Robin Shute P., aka Boy, grows up in Tangy, a coastal village in Kerala. His staunchly Communist father, Accha, saddles Boy with a puzzling name thanks to his own fascination with a girl named Alice. Growing up in a borderline dysfunctional family, Boy has an eventful childhood his mother is anxiety-ridden, his boisterous sister Suki lords over him, and his two dogs, though tiny, are quite vicious. Boy s own quirks, eccentricities, and his occasionally hare-brained schemes don t help him much either.

However, the family s oddities, including Boy s obsessive coin-collecting, Suki s radical feminism, Amma s hypochondria and Accha s altruism, are redeemed by their acceptance of each other, and their dogged optimism in the face of penury. And even when Robin grows up to become a responsible doctor (to everyone s surprise) the madness of his childhood days never quite leaves him. Set in the backwaters of Kerala, The Quiet Riot of Robin Shute P. is the poignant and funny coming-of-age tale of a young boy.